You can finally meet my mum

Adrien threw himself onto his bed, suppressing a sob as he closed his eyes and replaying the argument he'd just finished with his father over in his head again.

"ADRIEN...It is not happening, now stop arguing with me," Gabriel Agreste ordered his son, his ice blue eyes piercing through.

"Just tell me why...Please, father," Adrien pleaded, his own green eyes swimming with tears.

"BECAUSE IT'S HOW I LOST YOUR MOTHER AND I'M NOT LOSING YOU IN THE SAME WAY", Gabriel snapped.

"WELL, I'M NOT MUM AND I'M NOT A BABY! YOU CAN'T KEEP TREATING ME LIKE THIS," Adrien shot back at him, instantly regretting his choice of words after seeing the colour drain out of his father's face. He'd never snapped back at his father like he had just done, and he didn't know what had come over him or where this new found confidence had come from. The look of shock across Gabriel's face was more than he could take. He got up from the dining table and ran off to his bedroom before his father could regain his composure and reply to him.

Plagg looked up from the large piece of Camembert he was halfway through devouring. He looked back down at the cheese in his paws and sighed, dropping his food and floating over to Adrien,

"Adrien? What happened?"

"I had a fight with my father."

"Oh..." Plagg whispered, not really knowing what to say or do next to try and help Adrien. He pulled the chunk of cheese he was eating over to Adrien.

"Wanna finish this off?" he asked sincerely, holding the cheese out towards him. Adrien chuckled as he politely declined the Kwami's offer, Plagg shrugged his shoulders and popped the cheese into his mouth, chewing loudly.

"Feeling better?" Adrien asked, watching Plagg smile widely as he gulped down the last of the Camembert.

"Mmmmhmmm." Plagg nodded contently.

"Good," Adrien smiled, looking down at his Miraculous ring.

"Plagg...CLAWS OUT!"

Chat Noir bounded across the rooftops of Paris, arriving at his destination – Paris' largest cemetery – with a small thud as he landed crouched on the ground. He transformed back to his regular clothing, stood up straight, pulled out his mobile and opened up the contacts page. He scrolled down to the letter N, staring at the name of his best friend for a moment, before scrolling back up to the only contact saved under the letter L...Paris' very own super heroine...Ladybug. He sat down, and ignoring the cold and wet grass below him, he pressed the call button and put his phone up to his ear.

"Hello?" Marinette answered.

"Ladybug?"

"Adrien? Are you okay?" she asked, changing her voice slightly.

"I'm so...sorry to c-call you like th...this but I-I didn't know who else I could turn to and after last time I think that we're...something..." Adrien trailed off, tears forming in the corners of his eyes.

"Adrien! Calm down and tell me where you are," Marinette ordered, her normal shyness around Adrien disappearing at the sound of the distress in his voice.

"I...I'm in the cemetery," Adrien replied, his breathing becoming more and more uneven as he fought harder to stop the tears in his eyes from falling down his cheeks.

"Wait for me, I'll be there as soon as I can," Marinette promised.

"Okay."

Marinette hung up and threw her phone back into her bag as Tikki floated over to her.

"Marinette, I think that you should..." Tikki began.

"Tikki, I know what you're gonna say but you know I can't reveal this secret, to anybody," Marinette replied, cutting off the Kwami before she could finish her sentence.

"Come on, we got a job to do." Marinette smiled at her tiny friend.

"Ready when you are," Tikki replied.

"TIKKI SPOTS ON."

Ladybug landed gently down in the cemetery, dusted herself down and began to scan the area for Adrien. It didn't take her long to find him, even as he was sat down his bright blonde hair was visible above the gravestones. Even in the fastly fading Paris light, his hair acted as a beacon, drawing her to him like a ship to shore. The closer she got to him the more worried about him she became. He had his knees pulled up and his chin tucked into his chest. She had never seen him like this – he was always so confident with everything he did.

"Adrien?" she whispered, taking a seat next to him. He lifted his head up to look at her, and she saw the tears in his eyes and the trails down either cheek.

"Ladybug, I'm so sorry to drag you out like this," he replied, wiping his eyes and stifling another sob.

"Shhh, it's okay," she soothed, running her hands gently through his hair. He responded by raising his head again and resting it on her shoulder, and she immediately wrapped her free arm around him and continued to soothe him until his ragged breathing had evened out.

"I'm sorry," Adrien repeated again.

"Mon Chaton, it's okay," she reassured him.

"No, you're a famous superhero and I'm just one person who...Well, I don't even know what we are"

"We are...Whatever you want us to be," Ladybug answered.

"I...I want us...to...be together" Adrien admitted, before continuing before Ladybug could reply.

"I know it's silly...I know that I don't know who you are behind the mask, but I just feel like I've known you forever, I feel complete when you're around and I know we've had to meet in secret like what we're doing is illegal, but I just want you to know how I truly feel. I love you and I'll love the person under the mask, no matter who you are," Adrien confessed. Ladybug was stunned into silence for a moment; internally, Marinette was on cloud nine.

'ADRIEN LOVES ME!' she yelled out in her mind, before snapping out of it. She blinked herself back into the present moment and pressed her lips against his, savouring the moment and wishing it could last for an eternity. She pulled away after a brief moment.

"So why are we meeting here, of all places?" Ladybug asked softly.

"This is where I always come whenever I'm upset...I'll just sit down and talk to my mum until I feel better," Adrien confessed, gesturing down to the grave they were sat next to.

"Oh." Ladybug mentally kicked herself – how could she have been so stupid, of course that's why he was here. Because of his mother.

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

"It's okay, it was only a fight with my father. I shouldn't even have been surprised, he never lets me do anything. It's like sometimes I'm just another employee of his, somebody replaceable."

"I'm sure that's not true..."

"It is...He blames me for my mother's death and he's hated me ever since." Adrien broke down and began crying once again.

"I don't think I've ever been loved since my mother died."

"YES YOU HAVE!" Ladybug snapped at him.

"What about Nino, Alya, M- Chloe?" Ladybug asked him.

"They're just classmates and Chloe doesn't love me...she just loves the idea of being with a model."

Ladybug took a deep breath and sighed, knowing that this was the moment that she always feared would come. It didn't scare her like she thought it would; it was more of a steely determination. She HAD to do this.

"Adrien...I love you with the mask..." Ladybug began her sentence before transforming back into her normal clothing,

"and without it," Marinette finished the sentence.

"Marinette?" Adrien asked, dumbfounded.

"Adrien, you are the most amazing person I know, you have the biggest and kindest heart. And you are loved. And most importantly...your mother's death was NOT your fault and she'd be horrified to hear you say that. Your father is wrong," Marinette told him, her anger at Gabriel becoming too much to handle.

"But..."

"No buts...I'm going to be here for you. As Ladybug..." Marinette placed her hand in his,"and as Marinette, okay?"

"Okay," Adrien replied, a fresh batch of tears swimming in his eyes.